Maria Krykov was born in Helsinki into a Finnish-Russian family and began playing the double bass at the age of six at the East Helsinki Music School, studying with Lasse Lagercrantz. She is currently continuing her studies at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Matthew McDonald and serves as sub-principal double bass of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Krykov is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen, the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno, the J. M. Sperger International Double Bass Competition, and the International Double Bass Competition in Ankara, and was a semi-finalist at the ARD Competition. In 2019, she shared first prize at the International Bottesini Competition in Italy. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Munich Chamber Orchestra and Baden-Baden Philharmonic, and has performed with leading ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. A frequent festival guest, she has performed at Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, ClasClas Festival, and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and has received awards from the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation and the Finnish Bass Society.
